Prosecutor: SF Sheriff kept his wife ‘isolated’
Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who has been charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, kept his wife “isolated” in their home for 18 hours to prevent her from talking to police after he allegedly abused her physically, the prosecution asserts in a new motion filed today with the court.
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Aguilar Tarchi hopes to convince the court to allow video footage in which Mirkarimi’s wife, Eliana Lopez, reportedly tells a neighbor about the New Year’s Eve incident in which she is said to tearfully recount how her husband “pushed, pulled and grabbed” her during a fight in front of their 2-year-old son on New Year’s Eve that left her with a big, dark-purple bruise on her right bicep, according to the motion.
Lopez has not cooperated with authorities, and has made repeated public statements that her husband did not abuse her. Mirkarimi also has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty. The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 24.
The video footage is a key piece of evidence that the prosecution hopes to use in its case against Mirkarimi, who faces three charges: domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness. The prosecution also may call as witnesses Ivory Madison, the neighbor who took the video, and another neighbor who said she, too, spoke to Lopez about the alleged battering.
http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2012/01/30/prosecutor-mirkarimi-kept-his-wife-isolated/?tsp=1